Hi,congrats on getting your new plot.I think that if you sink the pots into the ground or use the trench method,then the nematodes are going to get to the tomatoes.You've added a lot of organic matter,that can help prevent nematode damage.Seeing as it is late for planting in your area,why not plant some directly in ground & see how they hold up.You could also plant some in the pots,but I would keep them raised above the soil.Also I think "Better Boy" are indeterminate,as they get huge.Best of luck with what you decide.

Derbyka

Since you are planting in the community garden, the rules are different than in the house where you can monitor close.
If I was you I would make a big hole where the tomatoes are going to be and put one paper bag like the ones we get when we shop for food, then I would fill with any organic material well decomposed, potting soil or anything you have available since funds are limited, going with cherry tomatoes is a good option since it is late in the season. After planting them in the paper bag I would add a little bit of fertilizer made for tomatoes. In my experience nematodes don't like organic material and after the roots are strong they don't give you problem. As for support, you can use a wooden stick that you can bug at any big box store and they will cut it to size for you and they are inexpensive, use soft twine to tie them, that is what my community gardens use and it worked fine the last fall.

As for the yard long beans, they are loved by the nematodes! if you like butterbeans they are good for planting and will be better in sandy soil. They come in bush and in pole varieties and I have both, can send some if you are interested.

Silvia

I use an in-ground pot-in-pot model, buried 5 gallon buckets and grow all my tomatoes in 3.5 gallon buckets nested in the 5 gallon buckets. It's rare for me to get nematodes this way but surprisingly one of my 23 buckets from the fall did have some nematode damage in the large roots. Usually by the time large roots grow from the top bucket through the bottom bucket into the surrounding soil the season is almost over anyway, so even when nematodes do get into the roots things are almost over anyway. If you're interested you can look at my clippings to get a feel for what I'm doing.

If, as Silvia voiced concerns, you have restrictions against using your containers then the old post-hole method works well. Dig holes 18" in diameter and 18" deep, cover the side walls with newspaper and fill the hole with potting mix, not soil. Although it's only good for one season this is a tried and true in-ground method for growing tomatoes in nematode infested areas.

Tom

I think it would be hard to grow a container plant in a community garden, unless you planned to visit daily, because the soil dries out very fast in container. The nematodes can get into containers even if you put them on a crack in concrete. I learned this the hard way.

I'd go with Silvia and Tom's suggestion and make sure you select neamatode resistant varieties to plant. The nematode resistant gene is not effective at higher temps so it will not offer complete protection, but in combination with the organic matter it should hopefully hold them off until you get some fruit. I think Celebrity is both determinate and nematode resistant, but check first because I may be wrong.

I'm in N. Pinellas,grow my old heirlooms in 10-15 gallon containers.Most of these have no resistance to nematode's,but as I mix my own soil and containers are so large,by the time nematodes infiltrate they are pretty much done anyway.We have much less rain in N. Pinellas and I'm pretty much watering daily but rain barrels help of course.I do have some xtra seedlings if your interested,most should be transplanted this weekend for great results this spring...e-me if your interested,I'll be around Sunday.

Thanks guys for all the input, it is really helpful.

Silvia - I know it is just a community garden, but I enjoy making it look nice and it is something I willing to spend a little money on so I am planning to do a trellis along the back for staking.

Silvia and Tom - I am intrigued by the paper bag idea you and Tom suggested. I have fairly unlimited access partially composted (I wouldn't call it completely composted) horse manure supplied by the park district. I added almost 30 wheelbarrows full to my first plot and didn't get any burn symptoms. Could I use some of this in the bags or would it have to be exclusively the normal mix of peat, perlite, fines etc? I am assuming that if I use plastic containers, I should stick to strictly the potting mix. Would there be any advantage to using containers vs. bags since I have the containers already? Also, Tom I tried to investigate as much as I could about your double bucket system before posting this. You use a reverse reservoir right with the outer bucket completely intact? How could I use a more simple set up? If I do sink the containers I should line underneath with newspaper right. I don't think there is any restrictions on containers, several people have earth boxes and other large containers on their plots. The whole thing seems pretty laissez-faire. I do visit the plot almost every day. I work as a tutor and am often driving through in addition to having a lot of extra flexible time during the day. I have been watering everyday for the past couple of weeks. However, this has mainly been to nurse the lettuce through the heat. Everything else can currently go 2 days or more (I think because of the added manure, peat, and perlite). In the past, I have only had to water the containerized super sweet 100s when they got over 5/6 feet. But, in either case, I plan to be out there pretty frequently.

Amberroses - I have some of the cherries purchases already but am definitely looking into resistant varieties for the rest. Someone at the garden today suggested Beefmaster, Better Boy, Ofri?, and Charger. I think there was one other one, but I can't remember. He said these transplants are available at the earthbox store in Ellenton.

I am including some before and after pics of my first plot started late January, partially so you can get an idea of the size and partially because I am just still so excited about it:) Once amended, the soil line is now about 2-3" above the sides.

Sylvia - I forgot to say that I appreciate the offer about the beans. I generally only like green bean type beans (the less beany the better). That is why I thought the yardlongs might be good in the heat. However, I recently started making homemade hummus from garbanzos and I think you can also use other types of beans, but I don't know that much about it. Can butter beans be used for hummus like white beans etc? I also recently came up with a cold bean salad that I actually liked. What do butter beans taste like?

Derbyka - The yard long beans produce great in the heat and in new soil, but if you are only familiar with green beans, they are not like the same taste, some people like them and some people don't and the best way to eat them is oriental style dishes.
Probably southerners can describe the flavor of the butterbeans better than me,lol.
You can make hummus out of any bean and they are all good.
Before you adventure in growing anything that you might not like like the butterbeans, it is a better idea to try it first, either get them fresh in the farmers market or even dry, some people like the taste better when dry. I prefer them fresh or frozen from my garden. I like beans simple ways sometimes just cooked and a splash of good olive oil, some citrus or a good vinegar.

Silvia

Your plot looks great! You've done well ;-)

...You use a reverse reservoir right with the outer bucket completely intact?....

NO, the lower bucket has holes to drain into the surrounding soil. I don't like the "inverse" (capillary action) systems with such SMALL volumes of soil in my SMALL garden, it does not work well with systems less than a minimum of 15 gallons soil volume...my stuff is growing in little more than THREE gallons of soil.

...How could I use a more simple set up? If I do sink the containers I should line underneath with newspaper right. I don't think there is any restrictions on containers, several people have earth boxes and other large containers on their plots....

If that's the case you can either do some EB type setups or grow your veggies in 10-15 gallon containers above ground as long as you have a way to stabilize the plants and can provide the water needed....

I would not be without my Beefmaster tomatoes, they are the mainstay in my garden for over five years BUT you must have a way to stabilize the plants. For hardy and stable maters consider Husky Cherry Red cherries if in containers above ground without worries about support.

This conversation could go on for quiet a while and I'm tired, put in a 13-hour day today and I'm getting too old for this....You coming to Silvia's or Lori's swaps?

Tom

For what it's worth, yard long beans are in the cowpea family. They are not really beans.

Butter beans are simply fresh undried lima beans. Pick them fresh and you don't have to worry about rehydrating them with long soaking times and they cook much faster.

Better boy tomatoes are in-determinants, not determinants and they are nematode resistant. Best boy is a determinant but for me it still gets to be over 5 foot tall and is not nematode resistant.

Tom - Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions after such a long day. By reverse, I meant I thought you had a system for wicking water out of the containers at the bottom after top watering. It didn't occur to me that SWC would be reverse from normal to begin with :) I still haven't made a final decision between post/hole and containers, but am going to need potting mix ingredients either way so am finishing up acquiring these. In the mean time, I spent the past 2 days building trellis (if you remember from my other post about finding cattle panel). In the end, I used electrical conduit and painted concrete reinforcement wire. This was did not save any money in the end of the cattle panel, but I could do it with no extra tools and is now able to be dismantled and transported by car when the park district rips out and rebuilds the garden in August. I would love to go to both the Tampa swap and Silvia's party but I am going to have an out of town guest both weekends so do not think I will be able to.

Sumala - I had read that yardlongs are actually cow peas. I a interested in growing "regular" cow peas too if you have any advice. Can you use fresh cow peas in the way that you can use cooked, dried ones? Someone in the garden gave me 4 marglobe transplants for free. I know these are not resistant, but I might stick them in the ground anyway since anything I get from them will be a gain. I might go with some better boys too in addition to all the cherries I am planting.

SWC = Self Watering Containers

Looking good!

Yes, I top water, and yes, I wick OUT of the top container using the same bucket system the SWC folks do, I just have my holes in the BOTTOM container at the bottom of the container so water drains out of the bottom container instead of being stored for wicking back into the top container.

Tom